


A Small Incubus

by TheHumanoidCatAngel



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Family, Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Mental Instability, Original Character(s), Slavery, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-08-02 08:44:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16301885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHumanoidCatAngel/pseuds/TheHumanoidCatAngel
Summary: "This world cares not about its inhabitants. It never did. People suffer, people die, and it makes no difference. And yet, this one here fights for his life regardless. I wonder what he sees in this horrible world worth living for..."





	1. Bloodied Snow

**Author's Note:**

> Hi thanks for checking out my story! As a warning, I update erratically so dont expect regular updates. Sorry in advance. Anyways, dont forget to leave a comment with any thoughts and critiques. Enjoy!

The sound of hooves striking the ground reverberated around the white forest like thunder warning of a storm, the thick snow on the ground doing little to muffle it. It was a rather nice day for the riders and their steeds to go out, so when one of the five suggested, there was no complaint. A gruff, older man slowed his steed at a a thin patch of trees, spotting a patch of green in the sea of snow. This caught attention of another rider, much younger in comparison.

“Was wrong Hugh?” he shouted, pulling the reigns rather harshly.

“Nothing, remember I’m here to restock on herbs.” he shouted over his shoulder. “You go on ahead to the border.”

The young man contemplated him for a moment before seeming to let it go. “When were done checking we’ll circle back.”

“Do what you want.” The young man scoffed before turning his eight-legged horse and shot off.  
Those many legged horses is a staple around the village he called home. They were native to these parts so it was only a matter of time before human kind would try and tame the humongous beasts. Larger than the average horse and twice as muscular, they were built for the harsh environment that was Neil’s Blanket, the huge expanse of frozen forests and wasteland.

Hugh sighed as he slipped of his own mare, giving her a pat on the nose, and meandered over to the plants he had spotted. Unofficially named as the village doctor, Hugh took his appointed job very seriously, so the moment he was even remotely low on medicine, he dropped everything to go restock (unless he had a patient).

He crouched low to the plant, examining it carefully before snapping off a stock. It was fern like with thin, but copious amounts of leaves. He recognized the plant as a White Tongue. They were called as such because of the new leaves towards the tip where completely white, growing green when mature. Medicinally used for stemming bleeding and stimulating the healing process. Quickly remembering his store of plants, he deduced that he wasn’t out of them, but getting more wouldn't hurt, either. So he slipped of his pack, along with a menacing looking gun, and began picking more of the herb.  
As he finished up, he slung his pack and gun back onto his shoulder. He stood, turned and reached for his mare’s reins, until ...

A high pitched screech ripped through the near silent forest. Hugh immediately jolted, his whole body going stiff. It sounded like… a child. The older man’s blood ran cold, almost matching the temperature. They sounded like they were in immense pain. Where they being attacked? These woods, compared to the rest of the icy plains, were relatively safe, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any dangerous animals lurking around. That was the whole reason he carried a gun. Did a kid from the village follow them? Did wolves find them? Hugh’s mind was going a mile a minute, but his body was moving, also. He didn’t even realize he had his gun in both hands, nor that he was heading in the scream’s direction. He didn’t question it, however. Instead, he picked up the pace until he was practically running, the cold air stinging his throat and burning his eyes, his horse left in his dust. It wasn’t very long until the scream came again, but it suddenly cut off. Hugh felt like he’d swallowed stones. This was going to be awful, he could tell. He spurred himself on, going even faster till he was practically sprinting. Almost as soon as he did, however, his watering eyes spotted a flash of red. He skid to a stop, almost slipping, inspecting it. Blood. Once he spotted the blotch in the snow he quickly noticed the trail along with the tossed up snow, as if something was dragged deeper into the woods. The next thing he spotted sent alarm through his already hyper aware system. It was a footprint, but not just any, these were large and bird-like. Hugh recognized them almost immediately.

An incubus. There was no mistaking it. But how? He honestly couldn’t- or rather refused to- believe it. They never came this far south. They check the border too often. And despite their aggressive tendencies, they respected borders, so why..? He immediately gave himself a mental slap, shaking his head violently. This was not the time. Those things were currently murdering a child and he was just standing there wondering why they’re here. Ridiculous. With anger as his fuel, he sprinted off again, letting the blood be his guide. The deeper he went, however, the more copious the blood became. Huge blotches sit sunken in the snow, smears marked on trees and shrubs, it was almost as if they were trying to paint the forest red…

Hughes stopped in his tracks when he heard laughter, before taking shelter behind a rather thick conifer.

There were three of them (He already assumed so with the number of tracks), all standing around a bloody heap. Hugh now didn’t have a shadow of a doubt what they were. Backs covered in thick white feathers, large wings folded behind them, long feathered tails, and- probably the most intimidating part- long muscular legs extending beneath them, with feet ending huge, black, cruelly curved claws.

The largest of the group was standing, almost triumphantly, over the bloody heap, blocking his view of their victim. The icubus’ legs were coated in the crimson liquid, as were his arms. Since the Incubus was completely white, matching the snow exactly, the blood really popped, cementing how disturbing and wrong it seemed for it being there. The laughing seemed to be coming from him, speaking with a cocky undertone to the other, younger it seemed, incubi. The youngest one seemed to be agreeing with the older quit avidly, hanging onto his every word, while the second oldest looked permanently disturbed. It would look at the heap, then to the older, and then stare off with a very distant look.

A harsh stomp to the bloody pile made Hugh see red (more than he was already seeing). Deciding that just standing there wasn’t going to solve a thing, he stepped out into the open. He made sure to make as much noise as possible. Immediately, they all turned sharply. The two younger yelped the moment they saw him and backed away, slit pupils focused on his weapon. The elder, however, stood his ground. Instead, his feathers ruffled and stood on end, lips curling back to reveal dagger-like teeth. Hugh wasn’t impressed.  
“And just what the hell do you think you’re doing here?” He asked. The largest ‘humphed’ before approaching him. A good arm length away he stopped, as if to intimidate him by his sheer size -as he was simply huge- staring down challengingly at the human who didn't even budge.  
“It honestly doesn't concern you. We’re just taking care of some important business, so why don’t you go back to your home and mind your own business, hm?”

Mind his own business?

It took every ounce of self-control in his very being not to bash the butt of his gun into this prick’s nose. The bastard even had the audacity to smirk.  
“And that’s where you’re mistaken. You’re a good half a mile in our territory, so the fact that you’re here blowing your disgusting breath in my face is absolutely my business, let alone the fact that your mauling a child!” Alarm seemed to cross his features as he suddenly turned on his company. He growled out something that Hughes couldn’t quite understand -their own language, perhaps?- making the second oldest flinch. He sounded rather indignant in his argument. The largest one turned back to Hugh with a snort.  
“It seems as though we made a mistake,” He shot daggers at the middle incubus at we. “But once we take care of that we’ll be on our way. So you can scurry home now.” The incubus quickly dismissed him as he headed back to that bloodied mess, which hadn’t moved.Hugh’s muscles clenched when he saw which direction he was going before moving to stand in front of the large creature.  
“I don't think you quite understand.” Venom dripped from each word, his anger bubbling dangerously close to the surface. “But I have a serious problem with you murdering a child.” The feathered being squinted at him, seeming to be losing his patience quickly.  
“What do you care?! It’s not like it’s one of your own! I’d think you humans would be glad for an incubus to be slain, so why are you bothering me?!”  
“Your own…” That piece of information hit him hard. So it wasn’t a child from the village. A relief, but what the incubus had said disturbed him more. Why were they hurting one of their own? A child no less. Why were they doing it all the way here as well? Hugh was ripped from his thoughts when the incubus tried to move past him. He responded by cocking his gun.  
“What the hell did I just say?” He snapped.  
“What the hell does it look like?” It challenged. “You realize what it is yet you still protect it? You realize I could shred you to pieces, human, don’t you?” It’s lips curled up in a sneer. “You are stupider than we thought!” The incubus reared back with a loud, mocking laugh.  
“And you’re stupider than you look if you have already forgot where you are. Here, I call the shots and, right now, I'm telling you to leave. Now.”  
“And why don’t you try and m-,” A sudden explosion of noise and wood startled him into silence. He looked at Hugh’s smoking gun before slowly turning to glance at the now obliterated tree behind him, His movements stiff with suppressed horror. The other two incubi seemed absolutely terrified as they began backing away from the armed man. Hugh’s eyes held deadly intention as he lifted the barrel to the white beings head. He looked the other straight in the eyes unblinkingly, undaunted, and without mercy.  
“Now you listen to me very carefully.” his voice was as cold as the snow on the ground and all too quiet. “You take your buddies and you leave. I never want to see your faces here again. Got it?” There was a long pause. The Incubus stared at the gun, then looked to his friends, then to the barely alive heap, no, incubus, and then back at the human threatening him.  
“... Fine.” And with that, he walked briskly to his companions before urging them towards the edge of the clearing without looking back. Before long they had disappeared through the tree line.

After a moment, Hugh sighed before he dropped his gun entirely and ran over to the tiny creature that had laid there lifelessly this whole time.

Tiny suited the incubus perfectly, as it was no bigger than a four year old at best. He quickly noted that the little guy was still breathing, albeit weakly and shallow. His body was incredibly thin, a sign of malnutrition. Blood stained his once pure white body, cuts and gashes littering his frail frame. An especially deep and long cut across his belly deeply worried the doctor. As if that wasn’t enough the kid’s arms and legs were badly damaged, if not broken. But what disturbed Hugh was the fact that these wounds looked old. Just how long had they been torturing him? Hugh pulled off a glove before brushing his fingers against the little ones neck- only for him to pull away immediately. His skin was ice cold! It’s a miracle he didn’t die from hypothermia yet! The touch seemed to rouse the little one as he(It looked a lot like a boy to Hugh) cracked one eye open. It didn’t seem like he could open it fully without the risk of blood running into it. His other eye seemed to be firmly shut, an angry red line running down it, causing it to swell. That bastard must of slashed at it , he thought bitterly. The little one’s eye rolled around for a second, as if searching, before it landed on Hugh. It didn’t seem to understand what it was looking at, but his breathing suddenly changed. It went from shallow breaths to quick, pained, wheezes, causing the blood that was pooling in his throat to sputter out in wet coughs.

Poor thing sounded like he was in agony.

He placed his bare hand on his head (the only place that wasn't mutilated) gently ruffling his matted hair.

“I won't hurt ya little guy. Just calm down for me, okay?” Hugh made sure to keep his voice quiet and gentle as to not spook him even more, though Hugh didn't know if the small child could even hear him, let alone understand him. Despite this, it seemed the small gesture worked as he calmed slightly. Satisfied, he went for his pack to get his first aid kit, at least to steam the bleeding, but froze when his gloved hand met frozen air. Almost mockingly, the memory of him throwing of his pack and ditching his mount’s reins played in his mind as he dragged his bare hand over his face, ashamed.

He’d have to move him.

That was the last thing he honestly wanted to do. The little one was much too injured to be jostled around, yet he needed medical attention yesterday. Hugh wasn’t about to leave him there either. Even though the humans living in this frozen land had been at odds with the resident Incubi since ancient times, the little one was innocent. He doubted it ever hurt anything -it was too small and young to do so- so why treat it like a monster? The poor thing was probably in shock by now with just how much blood he’d lost and he was borderline hypothermic. He didn’t have much longer to live. Hugh didn’t know what he’d do if he left only to come back and find that the kid had died alone and in pain.

Making up his mind he quickly stripped his top layers till he got to his sweater shirt. Quickly pulling it off as well, he redressed but left his thick outer jacket open. Working quickly, yet carefully, he wrapped the large sweater around the kid’s body tightly. He tried to ignore the whimpers of pain his actions brought, reminding himself that his actions were for the little one’s well being. With the child’s upper body firmly wrapped, he hoisted him into his thick outer jacket. He zipped it up all the way till nothing but the kid’s head poked out. Holding him securely, he stood, then quickly backtracked. It was pretty easy to find his way back, but he realized just how far he’d ran. As he trotted he kept checking on his passenger, gently rousing him anytime he looked about to blackout. After a while, a weak tremble took to the kid’s body, his teeth chattering. A good sign. That meant he was warming up.

Hugh’s features brightened when he spotted a familiar, peanut-butter mare obediently standing of to the side of the beaten path. Said horse nickered to him once in range, but immediately was put on edge once the scent of blood hit her nostrils. She stomped three legs nervously, pawing the snow with her front. The doctor patted his mount’s side reassuringly then went for the snow dusted pack beside her.

Hugh didn’t know how long it had been since he started first aid on the young incubus, but just as he was finishing the last stitch on his middle a chorus of hooves alerted him of the border patrols’ approach.

“Hugh!” A familiar voice called. He didn’t bother turn, completely focused on his task. He heard the horses come to a stop and a pair of feet run to him. “Hugh, are you okay?! We saw incubus tracks, then heard your gun go off and-! Is… is that ..?” The young man from earlier, Joseph, seemed to be very worried for him, probably coming to the conclusion that he got into a scrape with those incubi (which wasn’t false) and was probably thinking he got injured. But Hugh practically heard the young man’s eyes lay on the little incubus under him.

“Yes, Joe, he is.”

“But… but..!”

“He was being mauled to death, i’m not going to leave him.” That seemed to confuse him even further, but before he could say (or rather ask) more, the rest of the patrol began to gather around him.

“You said it was being mauled?” A large, gruff man asked, curious. “By what, wolves? Bear? Man he’s tiny.”

“His own kind.” Hugh’s supplied curtly, beginning to wrap his new patient back up in the sweater he was currently lying on.

“Its own kind?! I knew those things were blood thirsty but bloody hell.” A thinner man muttered. By this point, Hughs was getting annoyed with how curios his company was being before he hoisted the tiny thing onto his back, tying him securely to himself, and brushed past the group.

“If you guys are just going to stand there and babble like snow monkeys then move out of the way. I’ll tell you everything once were back home.” And with that, he mounted his horse and sped back to the village. The group left in his wake.


	2. Village

“Hugh!” A voice shouted, nearly making the doctor choke on his own spit. He was sitting on a long sofa in his living room reading over one of his books of wild herbs when the door had flung open, revealing a vibrant red headed woman and, unfortunately, her loud voice. “I heard what happened on the patrol, are you okay?!” The doctor grimaced as she had let in a cold draft before lowering his book. “If you really did hear what had happened then you would have known that I’m fine.” He grumbled, immediately put in a bad mood at the redhead’s presence. The woman didn’t seem to notice (or care about) his tone as she quickly strode over to him, eyes narrowed. She stopped just in front of the man and lowered her face just inches from his. Probing, hazel eyes met annoyed, brown ones as they initiated their routine stare-down. Several heartbeats later the woman broke away, seemingly satisfied. “I guess you aren’t lying.” She said wistfully, as if hoping he would have been. She looked him up and down for good measure. The doctor clicked his tongue. “I could've told you that.” He said, grumpily turning back to his book. Really, did this woman think herself his guardian? His ‘guest’ looked around. “You know I can spot lies a mile off. And I know you. You’re the type of guy that puts his own well being on the sidelines and completely dedicate your attention to your ‘patient.’” She said the word with unmistakable distaste. She sighed before she continued. “They said that they found a clearing full of blood and incubus tracks, along with your own footsteps.” “Did you listen to the full story or just what you wanted to hear?” Hugh asked, already knowing the answer. “Just the important parts.” He rose an eyebrow. “My safety isn’t important, Diana?” Diana paused in her exploration of the house, stiffening, realizing her mistake. “No! I mean yes! W-well, they said you were fine! I just… wanted to see with my own eyes.” She supplied defensively, whirling around to face him. “Uh huh, right,” He flipped a page. “If you’re looking for the little guy, he’s resting in the back. Don’t bother him.” Hugh’s house was doubled as an infirmary, because of the sheer size, so the sun room was changed into a sick bay. Not only that but he had to give in to an open door policy for emergencies and such. So, much to the grumpy man’s displeasure, nuisances like the one invading his space at the moment could pretty much come and go as they pleased. That is, until he chased them off with death threats. “Aww, I just want to look at him… I heard he’s tiny, and I’ve never seen a little one before.” Just then she heard Hugh’s book snap close with an audible ‘thoom’. She knew she said something wrong. Hugh gave her a menacing side glance. “He’s not here for your amusement. Right now he’s in pretty bad shape, I just stabilized him, again, an hour ago. Let him rest.” “I’m… I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t mean it like that. Honestly.” “Ke! If it was one of the village kids you would of asked if they’re okay and left it at that.” Hugh set the heavy book down on the coffee table in front of him, too annoyed to read. “But the moment you guys find out he’s an incubus, you just have to see him.” Diana couldn’t help but feel bad. She understood where the doctor was coming from. Many of the villagers acted as if their neighboring race was nothing more than savage animals. So when Hugh had supposedly ‘caught one’, everyone wanted him to show it to them as if it was a trophy from a good hunt. At the same time, however, Diana understood the villagers too. She had heard many stories of ambushes from the hostile beings if a group were to stray too far into their territory and saw the grievous wounds the men would return with. If they returned. But from the short time that she has been in this village, she had observed that Hugh was one of the only humans here that saw them as people, albeit angry ones. She had even asked him a few days ago his exact thoughts on their neighbors and was genuinely surprised by his response. “Honestly, I don’t have any qualms against them. Hell, I don’t blame how they act either. Just for us humans to live, we end up destroying and exploiting things, not always on purpose, but ya know. And besides it's not like we’re totally innocent either. I’ve seen these so called ‘hunters’ running around, stealing their young and selling them to God knows where for God knows what. Hell, I’d murder us too if my kids were constantly in danger of being kidnapped ...” Diana sat in tense silence as Hugh now grumbled angrily to himself as he rose and replaced the thick book back to the empty place on the bookshelf by the window. He stood before the window for a moment, peering out spitefully as if the weather had wronged him. When he returned, Diana gathered her courage and spoke to him again. “Do you think that you could tell me his circumstances?” The man rose an eyebrow at her. “What I mean is, what happened to him exactly-” “I know what you meant, I just didn’t think a person could be so persistent.” She heard him grumble something like “and damn stubborn too,” but choose wisely to ignore it. “So?” “Yeah, yeah, don’t get your panties in a twist.” She opened her mouth to tell him off for such a vulgar comment, but he cut her off. “I’m not entirely sure why he was, but he was being chased by his own. All the way from the mountain and across the border. Little guy has some crazy stamina, I’ll give him that. Although it looks like they caught him a few times before they tried to actually kill him.” “That’s… crazy.” Diana couldn’t help but breathe out. “That’s what I thought. From what I can tell, he’s barely over two years old.” He paused when he saw the bewildered look on his listener’s face. “Incubi mature quickly. After they hatch, they can reach maturity in about 10 years. They start slowing down around 20, I think.” Diana’s jaw dropped. Of course she heard of species of animals who did similar, but for an intelligent species of such size to grow so fast… it was staggering. She blinked a couple of times before she was able to find her words again. “Th-then by human standards, how old would he be?” “Mmmm… six or seven. Give or take.” “...How bad was he when you saved him?” She watched the doctor’s face grow dark and suddenly wondered if she really wanted to know. “Saying he was bad would be an understatement.. Before he was even injured he barely had any meat on his bones. Then the superficial cuts n' bruises.” He paused, slightly shaking his head before he sighed and continued.” Those bastards dislocated his right arm, ripped up his back pretty bad, wings and a leg broken, several ribs fractured, collapsed lung, and the worse thing, they almost disemboweled the little guy. No matter how you look at it, the bastards chasing him were torturing him.” Diana honestly felt like her head was spinning. As the doctor listed off every injury, her stomach started to do somersaults. How can anyone survive that? She knew she would die from the pain alone. She knew very little about Incubi. From what she did know about them was that they were fiercely loyal. They were one of the oldest living species in this world. They valued family above everything else. They’d lay their life down if their own was in any sort of danger. And yet, to hear how they butchered up one of their own, a kid no less, was sickening. She suddenly felt very angry, but kept it well under control. “So how is the little one now?” She was almost afraid to ask. “Alive. But just barely. If I didn’t come when I did, he would be dead. I stitched up the worst of his stomach and back. Set his wings, too. Had to put him on some heavy pain killers.” He lolled his head back over the top of the couch in an exhausted motion. “I had to give him several of my tonics just to give him the energy to heal. It really is like a balancing act just to keep him in the world of the living. I ought to check on him in a few.” There was a slight pause, Diana fully taking in the information presented to her. Hugh, she was told, had a bit of elf in his lineage. This meant he had an affinity for magic. Not enough to actually pull off spells per se, but enough to perform basic alchemy, medical alchemy in his case. He was very good at what he did, making his signature tonics that ranged from healing minor sickness, to increasing the healing rate of a person. She wondered, after a while, what he was planning to do with the child. “What are you going to do with him once he is healed?” The doctor looked genuinely confused. “...What do you think I’m going to do? Give him back to the ones who hurt him in the first place?” He sputtered incredulously. Diana frowned. It felt like he was talking to her like she was stupid. "I'll just let him live with me." “It’s not like he can fit in here! You know what his kind have done to these people! The villagers might not approve-” “Does it look like I give a damn what they think?!" Diana snapped her mouth shut in sheer surprise. "I brought it upon myself to help the injured and I'll, and I’ll be damned if I let a bunch of fools stop me from savin' a life and living my own however I damn well please! It's not up to them to decide what and who belongs where!” Hugh looked absolutely livid to the point where Diana felt slightly fearful for her own safety. Despite his age, Hugh was a burly man and there was no doubt that he could seriously hurt her. Just as she thought this, however, all the anger seemed to drain out of his body as his face returned to a tired neutral. He sighed, rising from the couch and turned towards the back room. He stopped mid stride before he spoke again. “I genuinely thought you, of all people, would be more understanding than that. I’m going to go check on the kid and, by the time I’m done, I expect you to be gone. Tell those pinheads I ain’t coming to dinner.” ~~ Almost a week had passed since that spat with the researcher. And the first day the little incubus had woken. Hugh had been doing the usual routine of checking all of the child’s vitals before checking and/or replacing the many bandages that covered that small, frail-looking body. Literally all of his body was covered in gauze and bandages alike. He even had an eye-patch like gauze pad over his left eye. The little one had to be laid on his side since he had a pair of broken limbs on his back. However, the moment he touched the boy’s shoulder, he moaned out in pain. At first, Hugh only took note of this, thinking the pain killers were wearing off, but then a hazy, blue eye slid open. At that moment Hugh stood very still. He had no idea how the little one would react to a human, as he’s probably never seen one, and Hugh highly doubted that he remembered their first encounter. So he slowly stepped back, watching the little incubus with bated breaths. At first, he just stared of blankly at the opposite wall long enough for the doctor to wonder if he lost consciousness already and just left his eye open. But then he started making little movements, opening and closing his free hand, swishing that stubby tail of his, before he seem to really take in his surroundings. And then they made eye contact. At first the simply stared at each other, one not knowing how to react to the other, and the other simply shocked by their presence. 'Okay, just try to be friendly, make yourself seem harmless.' Hugh had much experience with child patients. He knew that he was a large guy. But once he came off as nice and the kid realized that he was just trying to make them feel better, they tended to not be so frightened. But this was different. Not only was his current patient a different species entirely, but he probably wouldn’t even understand a word he’d say. The only way he could do this was by playing by ear. And the first thing that popped into his head was to give him a big, friendly smile. Turned out that was a mistake. Hugh didn’t know if his teeth simply spooked the boy, or he just didn’t look good with an open grin, but the little incubus jumped so hard that he accidentally yanked the several tubes attached to his wrist. The sudden pain frightened him further, causing himself to slip right of the bed and land painfully on his side with a pained squeak. 'Well that went spectacular.' Hugh mentally groaned as he rushed over to the downed incubus. However the moment he tried to lift him up, the boy whipped around with surprising speed and hissed at him violently. What feathers weren’t covered up by bandages stood on end like quills (a good portion of his feathers were still downy so he only looked a lot fluffier) and he showed of his white, dagger-like fangs. Hugh was genuinely startled by the sudden act of aggression, but quickly remembered the little thing probably couldn’t even stand up on his own, let alone actually attack him. Besides, with how the incubus was scooting away from him, trying and failing to get under the bed, it was extremely likely that he didn’t want a fight either. Just trying to scare him off. With that in mind, Hugh tried reaching for his little patient once more, this time with a plan. At first, it didn’t seem the result was any different, the little one hissing again, actually swatting at his hand. But Hugh was patient. When the boy made to swat at him again, he caught the offending hand and didn't let go. Although his hold was firm, it wasn’t enough to hurt the little one (That’d be counterproductive), but the motion still sent the incubus into distress. All the bravado he displayed earlier flew out the window and as he now was trying desperately to free himself from the lager man’s grip. The incubus tried everything to escape, trying once again to slide under the bed, biting at the offending appendage, he even tried to kick Hugh, but he quickly was reminded how very broken his leg was and practically yelled out in pain. Hugh was worried with how violent he was being that he’d have to fully restrain him, but the struggle barely went on for more than a few more minutes before the tiny thing finally ran out of energy. Seeming to come to terms with the fact that escape was impossible, he curled up on his side, tucked his little tail between his legs, and started crying. Hugh felt awful, the poor thing was probably convinced that this huge creature was going to hurt him to some extent, but knew this needed to be done. He examined the captured limb in his hand, looking closely at the torn skin at its bony wrist. Thin, watery blood rolled steadily down from the tear, looking rather nasty, but Hugh knew it wasn’t too bad. Still holding on to the sobbing incubus below him, he snatched the roll of gauze that he had left on the bed. He then turned and grabbed a box of sanitary wipes off a nearby stand and the discarded IV tube and set to work. As he cleaned up the wound, Hugh just barely registering the incubus had gone quiet. With how the kids arm would try to wrench itself free every time a wipe would touch the open wound, he knew he didn’t pass back out. He paused for a moment out of curiosity to look back at the little one, holding some gauze in place to stem the still flowing blood. It was obvious that the tiny thing was still very much in distress with how he was whimpering and shaking, but he seemed to be much calmer than before. The boy simply cried quietly, staring off with a seemingly permanent look of terror etched on to his face. After wrapping up the wound, Hugh re inserted the IV lower into the boy's arm, taping around the boy’s arm as to keep it there more securely in case something like today were to happen again. Carefully, he released the boy’s arm. Immediately, he drew his arm up to his chest, grasping onto the much too large shirt draping his upper body, yet, much to the doctor’s surprise, he made no further movements. Hugh watched him for a long moment, unable to stop himself from pitying the tiny thing. The poor thing could easily pull himself entirely into the borrowed shirt Hugh had put him in. There still wasn’t much muscle or fat to speak of on the boy, so even the smallest of clothes barely clung to him. And the way how he trembled was heart-wrenching, yet understandable given his circumstances. The doctor sighed as he finally made the effort to get the little thing back on the cot. He slipped his hand under the little one’s side, ignoring his protests, before gently placing him back on the bed. The boy looked around frantically, an odd mixture between a gurgle and a chirp bubbling in his throat. Hugh decided to give his patient a moment to calm, instead cleaning up the resulting debris from earlier scuffle. Hugh was focused on his task until he noticed his patient had gone completely quiet. He stole a glance as he bent to pick up an empty fragile disposal box to find a blue eye observing him tiredly. Every once and awhile his eyelid would droop. Was he finally wearing out? Hugh sighed and walked over to the little incubus. He couldn’t help but look over his injured body He watched the little one tense as he approached, turning his head to look at him better. Hugh couldn’t help but feel upset. A kid should never look as terrified as this one. They should never be in his condition, either. Gently, he placed a hand on the little one’s head, causing him to flinch. “Don’t worry little guy, I wont hurt you.” Hugh doubted that the kid understood him, but his eye went wide as he stared up at him, shocked. Hugh simply ruffled his hair gently. Slowly, he began to loosen up, his eye sliding closed yet not quite asleep. Hugh had to stifle a laugh. Literally petting him was all it took? He couldn’t help but look over his bandage covered body once more. He let out another sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. It’s going to be a long road to recovery, but he’ll be there every step of the way. He was a doctor after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please remember to send me your thoughts! Thanks for reading!


	3. Oh Yeah?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the last chapters formatting, it just wasn't agreeing with me...
> 
> Anyways, Enjoy!

It had almost been a month since Diana and Hugh had an actual conversation, and Diana couldn’t help but feel bad. 

Hugh was her friend! Yet the moment they get in a little argument she couldn’t be bothered to go and at least apologize. She knew she was a more than a little wrong for implying that the doctor should have just gotten rid of the young incubus the moment he was healed. 

She ran a hand through red locks as she walked out of the inn she was currently situated in, up to her ankles in fresh snow.

Ugh, I must’ve sounded so entitled… , she couldn’t help but think. Suddenly, shouts assaulted her.

“Ms. Leen! Ms. Leen!” A little girl just older than ten with a rather cute knitted hat ran at her, flanked by two boys. Just barely able to avoid slipping on the powdery snow underfoot, she skid to a stop. All three of the children took a moment to catch their breaths. Then, in unison the group shouted at her. “We saw it!!”

“... Saw what?”

“You know!” The black haired boy, Allen, snapped impatiently. “That snow… snowy… thingy.” he snapped his fingers repeatedly trying to recall.

“Snow raptor is the word you’re looking for, Allen.” The third and oldest boy, Rubin, supplied, tugging the bill of his hat.

“Who cares?!” the girl shouted. “All I know is that it look so cute! I wanted to give-”

“Cute? Yeah right, that thing looked weird...”

As the children argued, Diana looked towards Hugh’s house, confused. He was letting people see the little one now? But he was so against it earlier…

“Mina, Hugh let you see him?”

“Hm? Oh yeah, so mommy needed some cough syrup so I went to the doctor’s house. Then, I went inside and asked for the syrup. He let me follow him to the back room and I saw it!” She suddenly frowned. “He didn’t like me though…” Diana turned to the boys.

“And you two saw him too?”

“Yeah! When I walked in, though, he got so scared! The thing ran right under the table as soon as i got close! Probably got intimidated by my alpha male-like presence.” Allen stood straight and puffed out his chest for emphasis.

“Or your smell.” Rubin grunted, rolling his eyes. He looked up to the taller women and asked, “Are you going to see him, too?

That’s a good question. She was already planning to visit Hugh and apologize for their last real interaction anyways, but if the little boy Hugh’s been taking care of is as skittish as the kids make him out to be then is right now the best time to go?

She mentally slapped herself. Is right now really the time to makes excuses to herself? If the kid  
is that nervous then she’ll just ask for Hugh to come outside.

“I think I will, but for the doctor not the incubus.” Allen squinted.

“The who now?”

“The raptor, Allen, keep up.”

“Oh shut up, Rubin! She just keeps callin it weird names.” Rubin rolled his eyes so hard that Diana worried they get stuck.

“Are you serious? It's not weird, it’s correct!” The two immediately dove into a screaming match, little Mina looking between the two worriedly. Diana merely sighed and left them to it. Although she did like kids, she was a bit busy and honestly didn’t feel like breaking up a petty squabble.

Rubbing her temples, the red head made her way to the village infirmary.

 

Diana rapped on the large wooden door that belonged to the infirmary. It was becoming the better half of two minutes before the door swung open startlingly fast. Hugh, the only person who could answer of course, was suddenly before her. Huffing lightly, he quickly stepped out and shut the door behind himself.

“What?” he asked, breathless. His appearance suggested he was in some sort of scuffle, if the disheveled clothes and light, but very noticeable, red marks on his arms and face were anything to go by. Unable to put a reasonable excuse as to why Hugh looked like this made her suddenly unable to hold a complete thought.

“Yeah, I was… I wanted to ah…” Hugh let out a rather agitated sigh and leaned against the door. At first he didn’t say anything, and Diana couldn’t collect her thoughts to save her life , so the two just stood in tense silence. After awhile Hugh finally spoke again.  
“Let me guess, you came to talk about a couple weeks ago. Our little spat?” Hit the nail right on the head didn’t he? She averted her gaze sharply, fidgeting with her pants leg.

“Well, yes. I wanted to… apologize. For that time.” She forced out, eliciting raised eyebrows from the doctor.

“Oh?” It was quite, waiting. She could almost hear the ‘Is that right?’ in his tone.

“Yes. After careful reflection, I realized it was very, ah, crass of me to suggest that the little one didn’t have a place here.” She let out the breath she was holding and stole a glance at the doctor, who had a face she wasn’t quite expecting nor wanted to see there. She choose to ignore it for now. “So… Do you forgive me? Can we be friends again?” She asked quickly.

“I dunno… You were pretty rude back then…” It took everything Diana had to keep her face straight.

“I’ll prove it to you if you don’t believe me!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah! I’ll do anything you want to prove so!” She instantly regretted saying that.

“OH? Well now that you mention it i do have a little something that you could help me out with.” That guy knew she would say something stupid like that didn’t he? Sometimes she really hated how easy she was to manipulate. Resigning herself, she gave a less than enthusiastic confirmation. Thoroughly pleased with himself, Hugh open the door and gestured for her to enter.

As they entered the infirmary, she saw the place was in a noticeable disarray. The couches where not in their normal positions- a few actually were missing the cushions- the rugs were bunched up and far from where they belonged. Books were strewn about on the floor as well, as if tossed to the side as an afterthought, and a lamp leaning against the wall haphazardly.

“Noticing the wreckage, huh?” Hugh said after a moment, taking his place in the doorway leading to the sick bay.

“What… Happened?” Hugh suddenly looked very tired.

“An Incubus happened.” The red head took another look around the common area, nervously scratching the back of her neck.

“And im guessing thats what you need help for?”

“Good guess. So do you remember his injuries?” 

“Um, scratched up eye, broken leg, belly sliced open, I think?”

“And broken wings to boot. So, as you can imagine, the little guy has been pretty stationary for the most part. But thanks to my tonics, and a surprisingly fast healing rate might I add, his leg healed up just fine. It was just yesterday i took out his stitches as well.” He rattled off. There was a random scrabbling that sounded somewhere behind the doctor, causing him to sigh.

“So, what’s the problem? And that still doesn’t explain the den.”

“Just hold yer horses, lady, I’m getting there.” Diana could only shake her head. It was like talking to her grandfather, honestly. “As I was saying, the little guy is almost completely healed, which means he’s a lot more, ah, energetic. He took up the habit of running away from me, which is good in terms of exercise but isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

Now everything made sense. Diana had to stifle a chuckle as she imagined Hugh trying and failing to catch the child. Seeing the smile on her face, Hugh looked offended. “This isn’t funny, you know! The bugger’s still skinnier than a twig so he gets cold easy. And what if he gets stuck somewhere!?” She couldn’t help bursting out in laughter at that, much to Hugh’s expense. He sounded like a father left alone with the kids for the first time. She is so making fun of him for this. Later, though.

“Well I guess we should get to it, then!” He said with a innocent smile. Hugh mearly grunted. “Where is he?” Hugh scoffed at her. He turned down the hall, beckoning for Diana to follow.

“You think it's that easy? He’s tiny, he can fit almost anywhere. The little devil’s quick, too.” Lovely. She followed him as he turned into the supply closet. “I did, however, here him scratching around in here. I think.”

“Promising.” 

“Oh shut yer trap. He may be fast but he tires easily so we’ll catch him eventually.” 

The two carefully scoured the small room, making sure to mind the fragile vials and bottles of somethings. An almost inaudible scuffle caught Diana’s attention and she snapped her head to a certain shelf off to her right. She quietly beckoned Hugh over, and with a nod he quietly tiptoed over to the opposite side of the shelf. Now, if it wasn’t for the noise she heard earlier she probably would have completely ignored it, but unlike the other shelves, this one was pushed slightly off of the wall. Just far enough for a kid to squeeze behind.

Steeling herself, she jumped in front of the opening, hands lunging forward. She was rewarded with a sharp yelp, and a warm resistance against her grip. She drew the small body to her own, flinching when she felt claws scrape at her arms.

“Ya got ‘im!?” Hugh was behind her now, effectively blocking of any route of escape.

“Yeah,... Barely.” And it was true. Since she grabbed him, the little incubus struggled as if his life depended on it. He was bigger than she thought, about the size of Mina, skinnier of course, but that did little to sway his strength. Those surprisingly long legs were folded back so that those black claws could try and pry her arms off. She had pinned his arms to his side in a big bear hug, but with how he bared those pearly whites fangs at her, Diana was cautious not to get her face too close.

“Let me see ‘im.” Hugh carefully slipped his fingers around the small ones sides, Diana letting up and allowing Hugh to hold him. Strangely, once Hugh had grabbed him, the little one made no further struggle. Instead, he sat sombrely in the doctor’s lap, trying to bury his face into his captor’s arm.

“I guess… he’s good now?” Diana asked warily, a little put off by the child's lack of resistance.

“For now. Once i got him like this he doesn't try to run. Just when I put him down…” Hugh poked the child’s rather sunken cheeks with mock scorn.

Now that he was complacent, Diana was finally able to take in what these people called an incubus. His body was very human like from the knees up. From what she could see, his feet was reminiscent of a bird’s, save for his second innermost toe, which boasted a large, wickedly curved claw. He was wearing a large shirt that covers almost his entirety, but going off of his legs, she could guess he was covered in feathers for the most part. His face was round, framed by small tufts of down on his jawline. Only his right eye was visible, due to the thick gauze pad tapped to his left, revealing a beautiful cobalt iris.

As she was staring, the incubus happened to make eye contact. Immediately, he thrusted his face into Hugh entirely, causing him to grunt. As brief as it was she realized that the child was studying her as well. She chuckled a bit, before a question popped into her head.

“Does he have a name?” Hugh hummed quietly, absentmindedly ruffeling the boy’s white hair.

“He’s never spoken. Not since he woke up. But even if he did i wouldn’t understand…”

“They have their own language, huh?”

“Of course. It's probably why he's so skittish. Just imagine: You wake up from almost dying only to have this weird man chasin’ you around screamin crap you can’t understand.”  
“Oh yes, especially when they look like you.” Hugh’s face immediately screwed up.

“What was that?” The doctor growled out, voice tight. The incubus child actually whimpering in response. “Oh! Sorry, little guy.” he patted his back lightly to try and calm him. “Well, whatever. Maybe somehow i’ll figure out away for him to tell me.” Hugh finished thoughtfully. 

Fixing the boy to where he was against his shoulder, Hugh rose heading out the door. Diana moved to follow but as she pushed herself off the ground she was quickly reminded of the scratches those black claws had gouged out. They weren't deep, thankfully, but that didn't mean they didn't hurt. She hissed quietly as she turned her arms to get a better look at them.

“You want something for that?” Hugh called from the hallway.

“If its stops the stinging.”

“Would you like a pretty pink sticker as well, Princess?” Diana didn't answer, instead sticking her tounge out. The doctor merely laughed, continuing into the infirmary. She happened to catch the incubus’ gaze again and she couldn't help but wonder if he what he was like personality wise. With how he tore his gaze from hers the moment the meet, she could tell he was shy. But in terms of, well, everything else he was a blank slate.

She guessed that she would have to get to know him to find out.


End file.
